Shed and Shine Podcast Episode 74

Gino’s Riff – Love as a Business Strategy
Air date: August 6, 2025
Hosts: Gino Wickman & Rob Dube

Episode Overview

In this solo riff, Gino Wickman dives deep into the unconventional but transformative idea of “love as a business strategy.” He challenges entrepreneurs to shift their mindset—making decisions from a place of love rather than fear—and explores how infusing love into all aspects of business and personal life unlocks true leadership, healthier relationships, and greater fulfillment. The episode weaves together business anecdotes, personal insights, and practical prompts for listeners to elevate both their own energy and organizational cultures.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Duality: Love vs. Fear

• [00:29] Gino introduces the core dichotomy: all decisions are made out of love or fear.
• He sets the intention to focus entirely on love, positing that, “to the degree we can focus on love fully, I believe fear doesn’t exist.”

2. A Baseline Exercise – Tuning into Love

• [01:15] Gino invites listeners to physically check their vibration/energy level, suggesting:
  “Put your hand over your heart. Focus there and feel nothing but love emanating from your chest. Just simply take a few seconds, feel that, take a deep breath, and just relax.”

3. Building Business on Love

• [02:01] Gino boldly states, “You can build a business on love.”
  • Businesses rooted in love attract and retain great people, cultivate vibrant cultures, and outperform those driven by fear or pure logic.
• Gino describes his subtle integration of the love concept into keynotes and company culture over the past five years.

The “Put the Love in It” Story

• [03:12] At an EOS Implementer quarterly meeting, Gino shares:
  • He was overcome with emotion during a session and urged 200+ implementers to reflect:
    “Do you love EOS? Do you love your clients? Do you love your fellow EOS implementers? Do you love the leadership team of this organization? Do you love being here in this room?”
  • The core mantra emerged: “Put the love in it.”
  • Gino emphasizes the tangible results: lots of hugs, genuine care, and a company grown to 850 implementers united by love.

4. The Role of Tough Love

• [05:03] Gino makes clear that love in business isn’t all “Kumbaya”:
  • “If you love the people you work with, you must be completely open and honest with them.”
  • Tough conversations—including direct feedback and even firing—should come from love, not fear or avoidance.
• Gino recounts being described as “ruthlessly and lovingly honest” and takes pride in that as a leadership standard.

5. Extending Love: Clients, Vendors, Competitors

• [06:03] Gino urges listeners to love everyone in their professional ecosystem, including:
  • Clients
  • Vendors
  • Even competitors—“I truly love my competitors. And even when they knock me—and they do knock me often…”
• The message is to rise above ego and operate from abundance, not scarcity.

6. Company as Cause, Not Corporation

• [07:13] A wisdom from Gino’s father grounds his approach:
  • “Remember, Gino, this company is more of a cause than a corporation.”
• When Gino would get logical and detached, this statement would realign him to serve from the heart.

7. Love in Personal Life & Relationships

• [08:10] Gino pivots to personal relationships, stating:
  • “We all just want to be loved unconditionally for who we truly are.”
• He minimizes advice about loving family (most people do that instinctively) but highlights:
  • The importance of tough love in personal relationships too—honest communication in conflict.
  • Self-love: “Love yourself enough to set boundaries and stay strong in those boundaries.”
  • Stillness/meditation: “Send love to all of them from your heart. Believe me, they will feel it and you will feel it.”

8. The Natural State of Love

• [10:36] Gino’s self-revelation:
  • “What I’ve realized is that I’m just a cushy love ball. So that’s my riff on love.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• [00:45] “All decisions are made out of love or fear. On one side, you have love, and on the other side, you have fear.” — Gino
• [02:01] “You can build a business on love. And a business built on love attracts great people, retains great people, grows, and has an amazing culture.” — Gino
• [03:28] “Put the love in it.” — Gino (mantra from EOS Implementer meetings)
• [05:27] “If you love them, you truly love them, you owe it to them to be honest. In my toughest conversations with the people I work with, I just love them, even when firing them.” — Gino
• [06:36] “Please consider loving the people you work with, loving your clients and customers, loving your vendors, and get ready…loving your competitors.” — Gino
• [07:13] “Remember, Gino, this company is more of a cause than a corporation.” — Gino’s father
• [08:30] “We all just want to be loved unconditionally for who we truly are.” — Gino
• [09:13] “Love yourself enough to set boundaries and stay strong in those boundaries.” — Gino

Important Timestamps

| Timestamp | Topic | |-----------|-----------------------------------------------------| | 00:29 | All decisions: love vs. fear | | 01:15 | Heart exercise—checking your “vibration” | | 02:01 | Love as the basis for company culture & business | | 03:12 | The “put the love in it” moment at EOS meeting | | 05:03 | The necessity of tough love in business | | 06:03 | Extending love to clients, vendors, competitors | | 07:13 | “More of a cause than a corporation” (family story) | | 08:10 | Unconditional love in personal relationships | | 09:13 | Self-love & boundaries | | 10:36 | Gino’s self-discovery as a “cushy love ball” |

Closing Thoughts & Call to Action

Gino concludes by inviting listeners to check their vibration level once more, hoping they’re “vibrating higher” than when they started. He closes with an expression of genuine affection for his audience:

• [11:10] “I love you, and please put the love in it.” — Gino

Listeners are encouraged to reflect on their own use of love in both business and personal contexts, and to adopt the “put the love in it” mindset as a guiding principle in all relationships and decisions.

For more resources and next steps, follow the podcast at shedandshinepodcast.com or explore their coaching programs.

This episode is ideal for entrepreneurs and leaders seeking transformative approaches to both company culture and personal growth—challenging the traditional boundaries between strategy and heart.